Bells and Whistles
by alittlenutjob
Summary: Courtesy of a Tumblr request I'm throwing down a shortish multi-chapter about Jealous Danny (my favourite Danny.) As always I own nothing and write this with the greatest respect for the creators.
1. Cold Open

"Danny, what the hell was that last night?" Danny was standing in the bullpen looking at his notes from Mrs Gale's last appointment in preparation for her scan today. Apparently they were thinking of naming this girl Dorothy and calling her Dotty. It was really hard for him not to point out that the girl would probably spend her whole life listening to other people sing "Over the Rainbow" to her, but he'd learned the hard way that expectant parents are not always receptive to advice on names.

As Mindy flew through the office door, she flung her purse at the reception desk and both of her palms hit him squarely on the chest before her bag even landed.

"What?" Danny stumbled backwards a few steps before catching himself.

"You replied to like one text all night. And that was to tell me you'd talk to me tomorrow. What the fuck?"

"I told you I don't have the bells and whistles phone plan."

"Well you're getting it today," she said as though that was just the end of the discussion.

"No, I'm not. You're the only person I talk to at night, and we're usually together. It's a waste of money."

"It's not a waste of money. It's called being a good boyfriend. And you can afford it!"

"Just because I can do something doesn't mean it's a good idea." Danny shrugged and picked up the chart where it had fallen when she pushed him.

"How am I going to sext you on boring night calls?"

"You're not gonna do that, we're not sexting, and night call is work."

Mindy raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember you being so regimented about boundaries last week when we were messing around in Jeremy's office."

"Hey!" Danny pulled her into his office. "Not so loud."

She looked around. "There's no one here, dummy."

"You don't know that, you just barged in here and started yelling at me right away." He pushed the door shut and walked around to his chair.

"Because you cut me off last night like I'm someone boring like your Mom."

Okay, he got that she was pissed, but that was too far. "My Ma is not boring."

"HOW WOULD I KNOW, DANNY?"

Danny's eyes flicked to the door nervously. "This again? Why am I getting yelled at for two different things, it's not even 8 o'clock?"

"Why don't you want me to meet your mother, Danny? Are you ashamed of me?" For just a split second the fire that had been driving her flickered behind her eyes, just leaving the haunted look she'd borne for so many weeks after he'd broken her heart. It felt like he'd been struck, and worse it was his own doing.

"No! Not that. Hey, I'm never ashamed of you." He took her hand and much to his relief the fire returned to her face.

"Then what's going on? Richie likes me, doesn't he? Your dad and your sister like me. Do you think your mom won't?"

Danny swallowed hard. "I...I don't know."

Mindy's eyes widened. "Danny! You're 40 years old. You can't be scared of your mom."

"I'm not scared of her. It's just... she hated Christina."

She waved dismissively. "Everyone hates Christina. She's very hateable."

"No, I mean she hated Christina from day one. She told me before I even married Christina that I'd get my heart broken."

"Well it sounds like your mom is smart."

"What if she doesn't like you?" Danny closed his eyes and waited for her to flip out on him, but she surprised him.

"What? Who cares if she doesn't like me?"

"I care. I know how it sounds, but if she doesn't... if she says... Listen, my mom is a big presence in my life. Like she'd been the main woman in my life until now. I don't think she's going to let go of that easy, now that I've got you."

"Okay, I'm gonna blow past how weird that is, but Danny! I'm the main woman in your life?" Smiling brightly she squeezed his hand, causing his heart to flutter.

"Of course you are."

"Then I need to meet the other main woman," she replied.

"You're right. You're right."

"She can be the one who cooks Sunday dinner, 'cause you know I can't."

Danny chuckled at the idea of Mindy making gravy. She'd probably buy a jar of Prego and call it a day. "Okay."

"And I'll be the one who sucks your..." she was interrupted by him literally covering her mouth with his hand.

"Hey! Can you not say that while we're talking about my mom? Gross."

"You didn't think it was gross in Jeremy's office."

"We didn't do that in Jeremy's office!"

"We might have if you hadn't chickened out." Mindy plucked at the buttons of his shirt with her free hand, walked her fingers down his stomach, causing a whole new wave of heart palpitations.

Gesturing toward his office door, he shook his head. "This is a place of business."

"Relax, the office has seen MUCH worse. Jeremy's desk alone..."

Danny dropped her hand. "Don't. Don't talk about that."

Mindy frowned. "Hey, neither of us came into this relationship innocent. So what if my bare ass has been on Jeremy's desk? Half the city has seen your penis. There's no room for judgement here, buddy."

"I'm not judging you, it's not about that. I just think I'd care a lot less if I didn't see one of your exes every single day."

"Jeremy's technically not an ex."

"Doesn't matter. I can't look at him without thinking that he's seen all of you." Danny's voice dropped to a whisper. "Had all of you."

Mindy studied his face carefully. "Jeremy didn't have all of me."

"Whoa, whoa. I don't want to know details." His voice was still low.

"I wasn't offering details." Mindy's hands were cool as she placed them on either side of his face. "I just wanted to be clear. You have all of me. No one else ever has. Not even Casey."

His shoulders fell and it was all he could do not to sigh with relief. Instead he slipped his arm around her, fingers splaying on her back as he pulled her close. "I'm sorry."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I'm not going to break your heart."

"I can see that." Her lipstick was smudged and he knew he had to be wearing half of it himself now. With the taste of her lipstick on his tongue and the softness of her hair beneath his fingertips he felt dizzy. _Christina never looked at me like that. This is real._

"So you'll call your mom?"

"I'll call Ma."

"Right now?"

He glanced at the clock. "It's daytime minutes, Mindy."

"Danny!"

* * *

Author's Note: I never start these without a plan through the end, but the intention is that it is loosely structured like an episode. Sorry if it's slow-going, but hang in there. I'm working on it.


	2. B Plot

**Danny! Cover for me please? Shannon is in NYC tonight, I gotta go get drinks. Best Friend from college. Please. Please. You owe me. Please. M.**

**...**

**Okay. Okay. Have fun. Dan.**

**...**

. . . .

"Hey Dr C! What are you doing here? I thought Dr L was on call tonight."

The sudden sound of Tamra's arrival in the lounge shocked Danny out of his restless sleep. Miss Cheesewright had delivered a healthy baby girl in record time, and he didn't actually anticipate any more births on his call tonight. Everyone was delivered or hours away from action. He probably shouldn't have drifted off, but if there's one thing you learn as a surgeon, it's catch a nap when you can.

"Hi Tamra. She was on call, but one of her college buddies came into town and she asked if I'd take the shift. I kinda owe her, so I figured a night out with her girlfriend was a fair trade." He swung his feet off the sofa and planted them on the floor and stretched his sore arms. He was in pretty good shape, but nights spent camped on this crappy old couch reminded him that he wasn't as young as he used to be. He wished he was home. Maybe Mindy would rub his shoulders.

Tamra dropped into the adjacent chair with a tired grunt. "Yeah, I heard."

"You heard what?"

"I heard you owe her."

He rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Is this about the texting?"

"No, but that's wrong too. I heard you haven't even taken her to meet your mom yet."

Danny's jaw dropped. "Jesus, does she tell everyone our business?"

Tamra shrugged. "Pretty much."

"It's not that big a deal, though!" he said in his own defense. "She makes everything such a big deal."

Tamra's eyebrows raised skeptically. "It is a big deal, Dr C. Letting her meet the other woman in your life is like officially saying 'We're real.'"

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"Do you know how long I was seeing Morgan before he introduced me to his Grandma?" she asked.

"I don't wanna kn..." he started.

"The first date. He took me home to meet his grandma on the first date. That's when I knew he was serious."

Danny scoffed. "Okay, that's a bit much."

"It was, kinda, but he wanted us to get to know each other. We're gonna be in each other's lives for a long time. Until she dies." She looked thoughtful for a moment, but it was followed by a frown. "Or until Morgan dies. He's gotta stop hanging out at the quarry."

Danny just stared at her. "So me taking Mindy to meet Ma is like declaring that she's gonna be in my life a long time?"

"That's right. And you guys are too old for games. She needs to know she's in so you can get her pregnant and y'all can get on with your lives."

"Hey, we're in our 30's!"

"Dr C, she's got a time-bomb in there. Every month another egg slips away."

Danny made a face. "I know how it works, thanks."

"Then quit messin' around. Take her to meet your mom, get you a ring and knock her up."

"Would you stop talking about Mindy getting pregnant?" He ruffled his hair, uncomfortable with the turn this had taken.

"What you've never thought about it? 'Cause I can guarantee you she has." She nodded definitively.

A little pang of surprise snapped him out of it. "She has? Like she's said something to you?"

"Don't you ever see her?"

"Of course. I look at her all the time."

Tamra looked so serious that the creeping feeling that he was the kind of wrong you can't apologize away returned. What had he missed? "I don't mean look, I mean see. Watch her next time a mixed couple comes in the office. Watch her when she opens up another thank you card with a picture of a little baby all fat like you were as a kid."

He was caught off guard again, but at least he knew he had a right to be indignant about this. "What? How did you know that?"

"Morgan has pictures."

"How did Morgan get pictures of me?"

"He hangs out with Stevie. Didn't you know that?"

"I guess not," he said quietly, wondering again how much he'd been missing out on as he'd tried to keep his life in Manhattan and his life in Staten separate. He shook his head."That's not the point though. I don't know why everybody's gotta see my baby pictures."

"Don't worry, Dr C. I don't care about that." Again she faced him dead on, forcing him to face her too. "But Mindy does."

"Does she really do that? Does she look at babies different now?" he asked unhappily. He hadn't even noticed anything different, but he knew it had to be true. He thought about the babies too. He thought about happily ever after.

"She does. She's ready for all that happily ever after stuff. And that's how you should know you're the one. Now make it official and take her to meet your mom."

He frowned thoughtfully, unable to deny the truth laid out in front of him. He'd kept the two most important people in his life apart, and he was being so stupid about it. Of course Mindy was in his life for good. Of course she had to meet his Ma. "You're right. Thanks, Tamra."

"No problem Dr C."

He didn't really know what to say next. She'd called it, he was screwing this up. He tried to deflect."So...how are you and Morgan?"

"Uh-uh. Last time you tried to give me advice about Morgan you almost messed us up for good."

"I thought you guys kept hooking up anyway."

"We did, but you introduced the element of doubt.

"I introduced? You were cheating on your boyfriend!"

"Technically, yeah. But I had just stopped thinking about Morgan as a booty call and started thinking about being with him for real when you said that office affairs never work out. We almost didn't try again."

"What made you change your mind?" Danny asked, genuinely curious.

"Morgan took me on a real date. And introduced me to Grandma. That's how I knew he was taking it as serious as I was."

Danny sighed. "Okay, Tamra, you've made your point. I'll call my Ma."

Tamra watched him with an expectant look as he leaned over and picked up an abandoned section of the newspaper from the coffee table. "Well?"

"It's late!" he protested.

Her eyes narrowed, she nodded at him. "Call her tomorrow. Maybe you guys can have brunch or something."

"Maybe." He tried to picture Mindy at his Ma's kitchen table, asking if they had any Nutella for her waffles. He could see his mom primly sipping coffee as she eyed up the woman he loved. This was a nightmare, but one he had to face sooner rather than later. "Although if Mindy's out with her friend Shannon I don't think Mindy's gonna be good for anything tomorrow."

Tamra smiled. "Yeah, she kept texting me pictures of this club. They're drinking green things. A lot of them."

"She is? Why isn't she texting me?" Danny checked his phone and saw no new messages.

"Do you remember the other fight y'all had today?" she asked dryly.

Rolling his eyes he put the phone back in his pocket. "Fine. I'm getting the fancy phone plan. She can send me anything she wants."

Tamra grinned. "So who's this friend? Dr L hasn't taken any pictures of her. Just selfies. And drinks. And the ladies room."

"She sent you pictures of the bathroom?" He shook his head. "Anyway, she's called Shannon. I don't think she lives around here. They haven't seen each other in a long time, I guess?"

Tamra smirked. "Well keep Dr Reed away from her."

Danny chuckled. "I bet she knows all about him. Girl talk and what have you."

"Why didn't he cover tonight? That way you could go dancing with them."

"Eh, they don't want me there. They wanna dance to pop music and drink fruit drinks. Or worse, they're gonna go home and watch romantic comedies all night. No thanks."

Tamra's phone chirped. She glanced casually at the screen and made a funny face. "You're right, they're home. Hey, does this look like a man's feet to you?"

Danny grabbed the phone. Lined up on his coffee table were, in order: Mindy's feet (snuggled in those socks with little prints of watermelon slices that he mocked but secretly loved), a bowl of popcorn, coconut M&Ms and two big grey socks (occupant unknown.)

"What the fuck?"

Tamra caught her phone as he tossed it to her, already halfway to the door with a wild look in his eye. "Uhh, Dr C. You want me to see if I can get Dr P to cover?"

"Dr C?"

"Dr C!"

* * *

Author's note:

Okay, so it's not quite like a traditional B plot because I can't show the A plot at the same time, but wait for it...


	3. A Plot

_Don't Panic,_ he told himself as he sprinted up the steps to his building. He caught a glimpse of himself in the hall mirror as he jogged toward the stairs and stopped dead in his tracks. Even for a notoriously sweaty, tightly wound guy he was a fucking mess. He had to get a grip. What would he do if this was any other day? He scanned the lobby, trying to remember how to act normal and his eyes paused at the mailboxes. Mail. Mail. Mail. That's what he'd do.

His hand shook as he tried to fit the key into the lock. The box held only a handful of envelopes, but he forced himself to take a deep breath as he rifled through the stack. Bill, church newsletter, bill, bill, and peeking brightly from the back he found a postcard from Little Danny, who was spending her summer vacation in on the road with her mom. Selling turkey legs, he supposed. Danny smiled to himself as he read his sister's rounded script, message brief but capped with a little post script: _Tell Mindy I love her too._

Of course. Of course his little sister loved Mindy after just one visit. He closed the mailbox and crossed to the stairs with the post card clutched tightly in his hand, counting as he climbed. Mindy was part of his life now and he needed to trust that. There must have been some sort of mix up about her plans tonight. His Mindy wouldn't lie to him.

Calmer already, he stopped in front of his door and took a second to text Tamra.

**Sorry about being dramatic. Page me if I need to come back. Tell Pete Thanks.**

The door was unlocked already, and as he turned the handle and pushed, he found himself greeted by the sight of Mindy pulling a man's shirt off with such force that she stumbled backward, forcing Danny to catch her before she fell. "What the hell?"

"Hey Danny!" she chirped brightly as she untangled herself from his arms. "Why aren't you at the hospital?"

Danny struggled to control his voice. "I walk in on you taking off some guy's shirt and you wanna know what I'm doing? You told me you were going out with your girlfriend."

"What?" Mindy's brow furrowed in confusion.

He started to lose the battle to stay in control. "You said Shannon was in the city tonight and you were gonna go dancing! Where is she?"

Mindy and the guy looked at each other and started giggling, leaving Danny the outsider in his own home. He'd been in this position before and it had been the end of everything for him and Christina. The sick feeling that he'd been suppressing returned with a vengance.

The guy, this, this tall guy, this tall guy with his blonde hair still ruffled held out his hand to Danny with stupid grin. "I'm Shannon."

"What? That's a girl's name." Some small voice in back of his head told Danny he needed to slow down and stop saying things as they popped into his head, but he couldn't think straight.

"I promise you it isn't." The guy had this kinda crooked smile and this weird accent, and the desire to punch the stupid look off his face was almost too much to resist. Danny looked to Mindy for confirmation.

"Danny, this is Shannon!"

"Why didn't you tell me Shannon was a guy?"

"Why does it matter?" Mindy headed toward the kitchen, popping open the door to the utility closet and lifting the lid to the washing machine. She was so calm as she added detergent and deposited the shirt in question in the machine. Christina had been calm too when she told him it was over the first time. Like it was any other day. "And why aren't you at the hospital?"

"Uh..." Following her into the kitchen area he dropped his handful of mail on the counter and pulled his bag over his head to deposit it on the kitchen table. There was no graceful way to say 'I thought you were cheating on me,'

"No one was in labor," he finished lamely.

Mindy gave him a strange look. "Okaaaay."

"It's fine. Tamra and Peter are both there and I told Tamra to page me if I'm needed." Danny looked back at the shirtless blonde stranger in his living room. "Can I talk to you in the bedroom for a minute?"

"Sure babe, I am gonna grab some clothes so I can start a load of laundry. Come with. We'll be right back," she called over her shoulder to their guest.

Danny pulled the door to the bedroom shut behind them, whispering loudly. "Why's this guy not wearing a shirt?"

"Shannon. His name is Shannon, and I spilled a Midori sour on him at the club so we decided to just come home. I was gonna throw his shirt in to wash while we watched a movie."

"Well surely he doesn't want to hang out naked on my sofa, why doesn't he just go back to his hotel or something?" Even as he asked he knew how jealous he sounded, but he couldn't help himself.

Mindy waved at him absently as she collected a handful of his shirts to wash. "Don't worry about that. He's a dancer, he's like, always naked. Doesn't bother him."

"He could have one of my shirts," he suggested hopefully.

"Danny, I don't think it'll fit him. He's kinda..broad in the shoulders?"

He could tell she was trying not to make him feel bad about being...compact and it just made his embarrassment worse.

"It'll be fine, Min," Shannon called out from the sofa.

Danny's winced. How dare this guy and his stupid crooked smile and his apparently superior body call his girl 'Min.' In his own home. Not to mention how embarrassing it was that he'd heard their whole conversation. Danny felt his ears burn as he walked over to his chest-of-drawers and fished out a plain grey tee. He followed Mindy back into the living room and handed over the shirt as Mindy started the washing machine and closed the doors to the cupboard. He watched silently as the guy pulled his shirt on, afraid he might say something that would make this night worse.

"What do you want to watch next, Shannon?" Mindy was now kneeling at the entertainment center, pawing through a stack of DVDs. "I have...Notting Hill, Miss Congeniality... 13 Going on 30..."

"13 Going on 30! I love the ones where childhood friends turn out to be soulmates!" Shannon flopped onto the sofa, but not before Danny caught him checking out Mindy's ass.

"I'll watch Mark Ruffalo any day of the week. It's hard not to fall for a little Italian guy." Mindy shot Danny a sweet smile as she popped the disc into the player. He felt his resentfulness start to recede, began to relax a little. Why was he worrying about this? The only person who was making him miserable was himself.

"You want a beer, guy?" Danny extended an olive branch and felt his confidence come back as he caught Mindy's expression of happy surprise.

"Sure." Now that he was stretched out on the sofa Shannon seemed less intimidating. Big and blonde maybe, but his shoulders weren't that broad. He'd checked Mindy out for sure, but lots of men did.

Danny grabbed a couple of cold ones from the back of the fridge and popped the tops off. "This is Doctor Dan's Rocky Roadhouse Brew."

Mindy jumped up and held her hand out. "Oh my GOD, Shannon. Don't drink that!"

"Mindy!" Danny's head snapped toward her, his ears beginning to burn again. Going after a man's craft brew was a real kick in the rocks.

"Sorry, babe. It's terrible. Give him a bottle of Fat Tire or something, don't put him through this."

"Mindy it's fine." Shannon tipped the bottle, taking a long swig without a hint of distaste. "Maybe a little hoppy, but it's good stuff."

"You're just being nice," she insisted.

Shannon chuckled. "Min, you know me too well to think I'm nice."

She grinned widely. "Yeah, I do. And it's Miss Lahiri if you're nasty."

"What?" Danny looked between the two old friends, trying to catch whatever joke they were sharing.

Shannon turned to Danny with a grin to match Mindy's. "It's nothing. We just danced to a lot of Janet Jackson back in the day."

"Yeah, Mindy said you were a dancer." Danny crossed to where Mindy stood in front of the DVD player and put his arm around her. "I do a little dancing myself."

Mindy turned toward Danny, her hand snaking around his waist as she addressed Shannon. "Not like a dancer-dancer, like you, but he does a little dancing for me."

Danny's heart sank. Maybe she didn't mean it that way, but right after she cheap shot about his beer, it really felt like she was honing in on his insecurities tonight. "Not a dancer-dancer. I quit in high school."

"You're perfect for Mindy, then. She can't keep rhythm to save her life." Shannon smirked as Mindy whipped the DVD case at his head.

"Shannon!"

"Hey, she can keep rhythm fine," Danny jumped in to defend her.

"Dan!" Mindy pinched his bicep, making him jump.

He blushed a little, hearing how that came out. It was true, in that _private_ sense, but he really did just mean to compliment her dancing. "I just mean you've got moves."

"See! I've got moves."

"I'll believe it when I see it." Shannon took another sip of his beer and put it on the coffee table. Danny's hands itched to grab a coaster and move it, but he had the feeling he wasn't making a great impression so far and he needed Mindy's friends to feel comfortable around him if they were doing this for the long haul.

Danny turned and whispered into her hair, "Don't listen, you're great."

She flashed him another smile as she pulled away from him and hopped onto the sofa next to her friend. Then she did the most beautiful thing she could possibly do; she picked up Shannon's beer and slid a coaster under it. "You wanna watch this movie with us, babe?"

"Uh, no. I'll leave you to it. I'll grab my Tom Clancy and go read in the bedroom." Danny walked back over to the kitchen table and dug out his book out of his bag, picking his beer back up before retiring for the night. He paused at the sofa and leaned down to drop a kiss on the top of Mindy's head as he continued toward the bedroom. "Sorry, I crashed your party."

Right as Danny reached the bedroom door Shannon responded. "You didn't crash anything that can't get uncrashed."

Danny met the guy's eyes for a moment. Unable to read anything there, he shut the bedroom door and shrugged it off. He trusted Mindy. He had to.

* * *

**Author's note: I struggle with original characters because I don't want to make them so distinctive as to draw away from the world for which I'm writing, but neither can they be so generic as to just be set dressing. Shannon is pretty bland in this chapter, hopefully he'll have more depth in the next. He's loosely based on Wade Kinsella from 'Hart of Dixie' since blonde and cocky is something Mindy has sprung for before. Feedback is certainly welcome. **


	4. Act III

As he rinsed the last suds out of his hair and turned the shower off, Danny heard the phone ring. Slinging a towel around his hips, he raced through to the bedroom and swiped 'Accept' when he saw the name on the display.

"Hey, kid."

Danny smiled at the old greeting. Back in the neighborhood they were hardly the only single parent family, but when he remembered how hard she'd worked to stay involved with him and Richie, no matter how tired she was, he felt a huge swell of love for her.

She'd worked two jobs, sometimes picking up a third around Christmas, and most days he'd only see her for a couple of hours between shifts. As a grown man Danny recognized that she had to have been absolutely exhausted most of the time, and she'd have loved nothing more than the chance to get off her feet for 90 minutes, probably in perfect silence.

Instead, every afternoon she'd bustle in and greet her boys. "Hey kid," for Danny. "Hey baby," for Richie. She'd change out of one uniform and start a dinner that Danny could reheat for Richie later. She'd sit down at the kitchen table, check Richie's homework, and really listen as the boys described their day. At the last possible minute she'd change into the next uniform and rush out to the next shift, ruffling Danny's hair as she went, dropping a kiss on Richie's head. "Bye, kid. Bye baby."

That little time they had together each afternoon was precious and the routine gave their lives shape. Maybe that's why he was so strongly attached to his own routines.

"Hey, Ma."

"How was your day?"

"It was okay. Can you call back in like 20 minutes? I just got home."

"Sure, I'll call your brother real quick."

"Talk to you soon."

"Bye, kid." As the call disconnected Danny wondered if she still called Richie 'Baby.' She probably did.

He toweled himself dry and ran a comb through his hair. He had the irrational desire to dress up, wear something he knew Mindy liked, but brushed it off and pulled on a tee shirt and basketball shorts. He was sitting on the edge of the bed to put on clean socks when he heard a quiet knock and heard the click of the door handle turning. She slipped through and pushed the door shut behind her.

"Hey, you're out of dryer sheets. Do you think there are any next door?"

"Probably, why don't you grab the key?"

"I have a copy."

"What?"

"I keep my extra clothes over there. Didn't you ever wonder why my stuff isn't all over your place?"

"Are you kidding me? There's like 30 shampoo bottles now. And coconut water in my fridge. I find shoes everywhere."

"Danny, those things are essential. Do you want me to stay over or not?"

"I do."

"Then I need those things. And I need your other apartment to keep my clothes."

"You can't use a whole apartment as a walk-in closet."

"Wanna bet?"

Danny studied her face. "Have you ever thought about moving in there again?"

She met his gaze, her face contemplative. "I... have. I mean we're more or less living together now. I guess I just keep my place in case I ever need it."

"Do you want to need it? I mean, why'd you bring your friend over here anyway? Why didn't you go to your place?"

"I don't know. I guess when I thought about where I wanted to be for the night I thought about this place." She sat down on the edge of the bed with him. "Do you want me to move in next door, or do you want me to move in with you?"

"Both. I don't know how good we'd be at living together."

"Terrible. Awful. We would be awful at living together. But I'm willing to try."

"Me too." He cupped her cheek, fingertips brushing into her hair. Coming home to her every night, that was the kind of new routine he could get behind.

Mindy smiled and turned her head to kiss his palm. "Let's put a pin in this, 'cause I've got company and you're only wearing one sock. I'm gonna go next door and grab some dryer sheets and a change of clothes for tomorrow. Why don't you go out and get to know Shannon? He's been a really good friend to me. Like a 'making soup when you're sick' kind of good friend. He's the kind of friend who I can talk to on the phone after he's been on tour for 18 months, and we pick up the conversation with him like it was less than a day since we talked. There's no substitute for a friend who knew what you were like before you were like you."

"What?" Danny bent to roll on his other sock.

"Nevermind. Just go keep him company while I sort out the laundry."

"Okay." He pulled on running shoes quickly and followed her into the living room again, carrying his phone just in case his ma called again.

"Hey, Shannon? I have to go grab something from the apartment next door, but Danny was going to get another beer and hang out for a while." Mindy looked at Danny expectantly.

"Uh, yeah. You wanna another?" Danny opened the refrigerator again and grabbed a couple more beers without really waiting for an answer.

Shannon nodded vaguely, watching Mindy instead. "Sure."

Mindy grinned widely and grabbed her keys off the kitchen counter. "I'll be back in like 5 minutes, I swear."

Danny waited for her to close the door before he popped the tops off both bottles and carried them over to the sofa, sitting awkwardly next to Shannon. "So what's your deal, guy? Mindy says you tour a lot? That sounds interesting."

Shannon took a swig of his beer."It is interesting. I mean, I miss New York, but how else was a kid like me gonna see the world?"

"New York is the best. I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. I lived in Jersey for a little while, but it wasn't right."

"Jersey? What took you out there?"

"Oh, uh, I was living with my ex-wife."

"You're divorced?"

"Yeah. A long time ago though." Danny didn't know this guy, but if he was important to Mindy, then he had to try to befriend him, and there was no reason to skirt the truth here.

"Sorry to hear that, man."

"I'm not. I mean, I liked being married, but she cheated on me. We tried again, but it wasn't the same. We weren't the same."

"You went right back to her after she cheated on you?"

"Not like right after. We got together again later. It's complicated."

"Complicated like you might end up going back to her again?"

Danny frowned. "No, definitely not. It was a mistake to try again. Besides, I'm happy with Mindy. We had a hard time getting here, but I think she's happy too. And that's all that matters."

Shannon leaned back on the sofa casually. "You know, I can see why Mindy likes you. You know how many years I watched her date losers who didn't see how great she was?"

Danny started to loosen up, maybe this guy finally felt like Mindy found someone who deserved her. Well, Danny hoped he deserved her. "I know that feeling, yes."

"Then you know why I can't let her date you."

Any notion of trying to be friendly for Mindy's sake just evaporated. This guy didn't want to be friends with him. "So, what? You want her?"

"I always have," Shannon replied matter-of-factly.

"What?" Danny felt his grip on the bottle tightening.

"We didn't work out back then, but I can tell now that it's because I wasn't ready for her. I am now. I'm taking a choreographer job at a local company, and I'm moving back to New York for good. I've seen the world and nothing in the world is as good as being here, and spending time with her. I'm ready. Picket fences, kids, everything. She deserves better that what you've put her through."

"What makes you think you're good enough for her? You might have some history, but you don't know how she's changed in the last couple of years."

"Well, for starters at least I've introduced her to my mom."

"You know what? Screw you. I don't know what you think you know, but it..."

Shannon cut him short. "I know that it hurts her and that's all that matters. I know what you did, making her sneak around because you couldn't face your friends. Now you're doing it again with your family. She deserves someone who's proud to be with her."

"You don't know anything about me and Mindy."

"I know you're not good enough for her. You're the kind of guy who is never gonna let her in. You can't make her happy in the long run. She'll figure it out too."

Danny swallowed angry words, knowing how pissed Mindy would be if she came back to a full on fight. His phone rang, saving him from having to continue. He stood up and started walking for the door. "I have to take this. Tell Mindy I had to take a walk."

Shannon gave Danny an appraising look and a mocking smile. "You always run from a fight?"

"Fuck you." Danny should have known that would be the very second Mindy would walk back in.

"Danny?" She looked more confused than angry, but he knew the anger would arrive sooner rather than later and he certainly wasn't gonna fight with her in front of this asshole.

"I'm gonna take this call, Min. I'll see you later."

He was already in the stairwell taking them two at a time before he heard her shout down the hall. "Danny!"

He burst through the main doors to the building and out onto the street as he accepted the call, but he tried to keep his voice under control. "Hi Ma."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Daniel Castellano, don't you dare lie to your mother."

"Ma, don't worry about it."

"Is is that girl again?"

"She's not that girl. She's my girlfriend. Well at least for now."

"What are you talking about?"

"It's a mess, Ma. I met one of her friends tonight and he said some pretty shitty things."

"Language."

"Sorry. He said some things... that were kinda true. I mean it seems like we are doing pretty good most of the time, but he's right about how I just keep messing up with her."

"Her friend isn't dating you, she is. Don't worry about what he says, talk to her."

"I try, but even then I say the wrong thing. I don't know how to make her happy."

"Tell me, what does she do to make you happy?"

"I don't know. Everything. I mean she can't cook or anything, and she's always loud, and she's kinda messy, but she just... makes things better. It's not like one thing she does. It's just everything. When we're together, she makes everything better."

"Well, there ya go. You don't have to know how to make her happy, you just do it by being you."

"You think?"

"Hey, kid. I know. You make a family out of what you've got, and if you've got love you'll figure the rest out together. Now get off the phone and go fix things up."

"Okay. Bye, Ma. I love you."

"Bye, kid."

Danny had made it about six blocks west of the building, but with the adrenaline that had been driving him now ebbing he felt too cold, too tired. He turned around and walked home.

He found her alone on the sofa, turning the postcard from Little Danny over and over in her hands. There was no sign of Shannon and the television was switched off.

"Hey." He tried to speak softly, but voice cracked a little, and she looked surprised.

"Hey."

"I'm sorry I yelled at your friend."

"Danny, it's okay. He told me what he said to you. I'm surprised you didn't knock him out."

"Yeah?" Danny rubbed the back of his neck self consciously. "Where is he now?"

"I told him he should go."

Danny snorted. "He didn't sweep you off your feet, take you away from all of this?"

Mindy's jaw dropped. "Did he say that?"

"No. I just, I guess I let some of the things he said get to me."

"Why?" She asked so quietly he almost didn't hear her.

Danny sat down heavily next to her. "I don't know. 'Cause some of it was right. I have messed you around. I don't deserve you."

"Daniel Castellano, you fucking idiot. Stop listening to other people, talk to me."

"That's what my ma said too."

"Well she sounds smart." Much to her credit, Mindy stopped there even though she looked like she would have loved to continue.

Danny shifted uncomfortably on the couch. "I haven't let you in like I should. I told you it would be hard for me to change. I didn't fix my phone for you. I didn't take you to meet my ma. I didn't notice that you'd basically already moved in."

"That's on me. I kinda of snuck stuff in when you were at work."

"But you shouldn't have to. I should have actually asked."

"I agree."

"And I should have noticed you're ready for the other stuff too. The picket fence. The babies."

Mindy looked down. "Well, we're never getting a picket fence, we are living in the city until we die. The babies... we should probably talk about for real that someday."

"I'm sorry, Mindy. I'm sorry I haven't let you in."

"Danny, you have let me in." She handed him the postcard from Little Danny. "You took me with you to do the single hardest thing you've ever had to do."

He flipped the card to the back, re-reading his sister's message. "I got suspicious when you had a guy over, and literally ran here from the hospital."

"I know."

"You do?"

"Of course. You should have seen what you looked like when you got here." Mindy frowned. "That's on me too. I should have thought about why that would freak you out and I'm sorry."

"You know, some of what you said was right too. I'm never gonna know you like he does. You never have any trouble talking to him. He could make you happy."

"Danny, you make me happy. You also make me crazy, but really, really happy." Mindy leaned over and kissed him softly. "We'll get to the moving in talk, and we'll definitely get to the babies talk, but you have let me in, and I know that."

All the misery he'd been carrying all night long started to lift as he looked into her eyes.

She stood up and held her hand out to him. "Let's go to bed."

Danny looked up at her completely calm face. He trusted her. He knew that he didn't even have to ask. He just trusted her. "Hold on, I gotta do something."

"It's late. Do it tomorrow."

Danny shook his head. "This can't wait."

"Hey Ma. What are you doing for lunch tomorrow?"

* * *

Notes:

Unbeta'd again, so sorry for the mess.

Doing this in a psuedo episode format has just made me miss the show more. Season 3 is so close I can taste it. Feedback always gratefully received! 


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